"AUTUMN LEAVES"

Today in New Brunswick,the winds of autumn, flurry the leaves past  my windows... I have never seen the foliage fall so quicky. While the colors of a Canadian fall can  expand the heart with joy, so does the autumn  in Japan fill the heart with inner  calm and  repose.  I am missing Japan this season.... Wishing I could walk once more in the Imperial Palace grounds, picking up the tiny maple leaves to press between the pages of  my books. I love creating pictures with pressed flowers and leaves... It's a hobby from my childhood. 

I had not realized the difference in the size and shades of the maple leaves ... Our Canadian maples are so vibrantly robust and large ... some  bigger than the palm of my hand. The Japanese maple leaves are tiny and frail, mostly crimson in color... They are like  tiny fairies fluttering and dancing through the air, into my heart.

Next month I will return to Japan. I look forward to nestling down with the leaves pressed so snuggly  amongst the pages ...  recalling the fond memories of  walking through the palace courtyards in Kyoto.